


Boyfriends

by rinthegreat



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, Dating, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 01:24:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14250066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinthegreat/pseuds/rinthegreat
Summary: The term "boyfriends" doesn't suit the feelings Haru has towards Rin.





	Boyfriends

**Author's Note:**

> holy hell this has been a wip for eternity. it's actually been a fic in my head since season 1 ended (this is set between seasons 1 and 2 in my mind but it's vague enough to go wherever). i finally got around to writing 95% of it during 2017's nano, but then i forgot about it until now. so here it is, finally finished! i hope you guys enjoy.

“Go out with me,” Rin had declared one night.

It had been just the two of them at the Iwatobi pool. They’d taken to racing on their off days, alternating between the Samezuka facilities and the Iwatobi ones. They had raced until the sky was lit pink, sunset threatening to cut them off if they didn’t leave soon. They’d been toweling off, Rin standing with his back to the sun, illuminated in soft pinks and blues, silhouette something Haru had committed to memory so he could recreate it on canvas later.

He’d hardly said it in a romantic way, but with the backdrop behind him, water dripping down his hair as if even the droplets were loathe to leave him, it was romantic. “Okay,” had been all Haru could say.

What an inconsequential way for him to express all the things Rin has made him feel since they lay eyes on each other that swim meet all those years ago. Haru has always been drawn to Rin with the same inevitability as a magnet towards its mate. But _okay_ had been as close as he could come to expressing that.

So now…now he’s dating Rin.

The simplicity of that statement, the normalcy of it is what bothers Haru. Girlfriends dump their boyfriends all the time, after all. A couple eating lunch together one week won’t even acknowledge each other the next. A simple term like ‘dating’ is so casually tossed to the side, as if there’s no significance to the word at all.

Haru chews over the thought the entire week after Rin asks him out, worrying over the silly fear that Rin will take this as casually as the students in his school. Silly because Rin’s always been more serious than his age. More romantic than someone with bright eyes and large muscles has any right to be.

The next time they meet is at Samezuka, seven days after that evening in Iwatobi. Rin greets him at the gate, even though it’s unlocked, and he knows Haru’s not going to get lost on his way to the pool.

“Haru!” Rin exclaims, smile just as wide as it had been when Haru replied with his two simple syllables. “You came!”

“It’s Saturday,” Haru replies simply. Of course he’d be here. Had Rin thought he wouldn’t?

“Yeah, well,” Rin laughs, scratching the back of his neck, “you didn’t answer my texts.”

Haru blinks. “I don’t check my phone.” Everyone knows that; Rin had complained about it last time they were here. _Jeez, Haru, the least you could do is text me when you get here so you’re not swimming alone for so long._

_I don’t mind_.

Rin shifts his weight, glancing somewhere off to the side. “I thought it would be different now.”

“Why would it be different?” Haru asks with a frown.

Rin flushes. “No reason,” he answers too quickly. “You want to swim right?”

Haru’s frown deepens, but he accepts the topic change easily.

Swimming is easier than talking. With just the water between them, there’s nothing to misunderstand. They warm up several laps before Rin’s impatience bubbles over the surface. Haru doesn’t need to see him to know. He can feel the pulse of the water as Rin’s dolphin kick gains force, the waves as Rin’s strokes gain speed when he breaches. It’s just as well, because Haru had been getting tired of spinning in laps without Rin’s intoxicating presence pushing him forward.

They race without a starter for a few laps before Haru gets truly impatient. He climbs out and stands on the block, waiting for Rin to join him with his sharp grin. They use the clock to start themselves and race several times. Fifty meters, a hundred meters, seventy five meters once just because they can. Freestyle, always.

And when they climb out, Haru feels the familiar thrum under his skin, assuaging his fear over such simple terms as ‘dating’ and ‘boyfriends’. Haru is Haru and Rin is Rin. They don’t need a term to define what they are.

But when dry clothes cover his skin, and Rin stands there, muscles covered by a red shirt and black jacket, the fear returns. “Let’s get food,” Rin offers. “My treat.”

Haru physically recoils. Getting food, going out.

 He sees other couples in Iwatobi, eating lunch together. The girl will bring an extra bento for her boyfriend, and the two of them push together desks while Haru disappears up to the roof with the rest of the swim team.

Something so normal doesn’t suit him and Rin, he doesn’t think. Rin would complain if Haru made him a bento of mackerel and would insist that Haru eat meat instead of fish all the time. Besides, they don’t go to school together, so how could they even share a meal?

That’s dating, that’s boyfriends. That’s _temporary_. And what Haru feels for Rin is anything but temporary.

“No,” he declares firmly.

Rin winces, hurt clear in his eyes. “No?”

Haru searches for something, for some way to respond that won’t embarrass him or scare Rin off. “Come to my place instead,” he decides. “I can make mackerel.”

Some of the hurt disappears from Rin’s face as he gives a nervous laugh. “Only you would turn down free food for mackerel.”

“You can pay for it,” Haru offers.

“Hey you little mooch!” Rin shouts, offended, and Haru has to look away to hide the small smile forming on his lips.

They walk close enough to bump shoulders, close enough so their fingers brush, igniting Haru with electricity every time they do. The train back to Iwatobi is crowded, so they huddle close together across from the door, and Haru sways into Rin with every shift of the train.

Rin smiles, resting a hand on Haru’s side “to steady you,” he swears with a wink, and heat creeps up Haru’s neck. He hears a giggle behind Rin and leans over, curiosity taking over. A couple stands near the other door in a similar state, guy leaning over the girl with his hand resting casually on her waist. He murmurs something else into her ear as she sways into him, and she giggles again.

Haru’s stomach runs cold.

He backs away from Rin without looking him in the eye, already feeling the disappointment oozing off the redhead. When they get off the train, they walk further apart than before.

The walk back to the beach is long, the ascent up the stairs silent, and Rin hovers in front of Haru’s door when they reach it. Haru turns and blinks at him, expectantly, but Rin doesn’t meet his eyes again, scratching the back of his neck. “Can I come in?” he asks, strangely timid.

“I invited you,” Haru reminds him.

Rin shrugs but doesn’t push it, following Haru inside.

Haru half considers sending him out to get meat, but he had brought Rin here under the pretense of mackerel, so he takes out a whole fish and cuts two fillets, one for each of them, as he heats up the grill. He’s painfully aware of the way Rin hovers in the doorway, filling the room with his presence before he even enters it. But it’s Rin, and he’s never been good about staying away from Haru, so it doesn’t take long for him to walk in.

He presses up behind Haru, resting his chin on Haru’s shoulder as he watches. “Is this always how you cook it?” Rin asks, breath ghosting over Haru’s skin, giving him goosebumps. Rin’s hands snake around his waist, fingers catching on his shirt, rubbing skin on skin.

Haru drops his spatula.

“Move,” he commands, and Rin steps back easily. Haru has fish grease on his shirt now, and the spatula is lying useless on the floor. He picks it up and tosses it in the sink to wash later, grabbing a sponge to scrub up the mess on the floor. He has multiple spatulas, so he grabs a new one and flips the fish, relieved that he at least didn’t burn it.

“Hand me the apron,” he says, holding out his hand. Rin takes a moment to find it, but soon the rough cloth is pressed into his hand. Haru pulls it over his head, tying it behind his back, even though the damage is already done. Rin approaches again, but Haru waves the spatula to the doorway. “Don’t distract the cook. Wait out there.”

“Haru…” Rin whines, but Haru doesn’t look towards him. He needs to make food without burning it or himself. Rin is a hazard to have around the kitchen, and his kicked puppy face will win Haru over if he’s not careful.

Rin sighs but gives in, disappearing into the living area. Haru’s shoulders drop in relief, the heat finally creeping up his cheeks. It isn’t as if he and Rin have never touched skin to skin before. But in that moment, with Rin’s chin on his shoulder, breath in his ear, it felt more intimate than ever before.

He finishes cooking without further incidents, and Rin sits across from him when they eat, so Haru isn’t at risk of dropping the scalding fish onto his lap. Rin offers to clean when they’re done eating, but Haru clears the plates before he can, taking them to the sink to be washed along with both his spatulas now. He turns the water on for them to soak, but then he hears Rin clear hi throat loudly behind him.

When he turns around, Rin’s already donned his jacket again, hands shoved deep in his pockets. “I’m gonna head back,” he says, not looking at Haru.

Haru waits for him to finish his sentence, but when it’s clear that’s all there is, he nods. Rin hadn’t asked to stay the night, and Haru’s at a loss as to whether he should offer it.

“I’ll…uh…see you next week?” Rin asks, voice small and timid once again.

Haru drops the chopsticks he’d been holding in the sink and approaches. He hesitates when he reaches Rin, finally settling on resting his hand on Rin’s jacketed forearm. “At Iwatobi’s pool,” Haru confirms.

Rin swallows before giving Haru a shaky smile. “Yeah. At Iwatobi’s pool.” He leaves Haru in a rush of air, the scent of chlorine and cherry blossoms lingering until Haru returns to the sink to wash the dishes.

As it turns out, he doesn’t have to wait a full week to see Rin again. He stays late at the pool on Tuesday, only getting out when a patient Makoto points out the sun is setting, and it’s going to get cold. Makoto doesn’t remark that he’s already cold, that the light is already too dim for him to continue doing homework as he waits, but Haru can see it in the thick parka Makoto wears, in the way his book bag is already slung over his shoulder.

He senses something different as they ascend the stairs, but he doesn’t say anything when Makoto turns towards his house with a wave. Haru reaches the top and inhales the scent of cherry blossoms and chlorine before he sees the slouched redhead sitting with his back against Haru’s front door.

His heart gives an unpleasant lurch when Rin looks up, smile spreading over his face. How could he have ever believed he’d want to see an expression other than that on Rin? Nothing suits Rin better than a smile. Haru wouldn’t mind seeing him wearing just that.

He shoves that down as he approaches, pushing the door open. “It’s unlocked,” he greets.

“Nice to see you too, Haru,” Rin laughs.

Haru doesn’t invite him inside, but he doesn’t need to. Rin follows him in easily, kicking off his shoes before he pads in after Haru. “Stayed at the pool late?” he asks.

“Obviously.”

“Obviously,” Rin mocks, but there’s no ill will behind his words. “Of course. I should’ve tried there first.”

Haru smiles privately, imagining Rin appearing at sunset by the pool again, smelling of cherry blossoms. Makoto wouldn’t have to wait for him, then. He could go home, knowing that Rin would get Haru out of the pool when it got too dark.

Or he might assume that Haru would keep Rin in too long and insist on staying regardless.

“What brings you here?” he asks instead of telling Rin that he would very much like for Rin to appear at the Iwatobi pool every evening.

“Can’t I come visit my boyfriend?” Rin asks jovially, and the ice reappears in Haru’s stomach.

There’s that word again. _Boyfriend_. The word doesn’t fit Rin, doesn’t fit the ache Haru feels in his bones when they’re near each other. He recalls now overhearing a girl in his class the other day, talking about her _boyfriend_ – that cursed word the only reason Haru noticed anything at all – and how he had come to surprise her at her part time job.

Suddenly the idea of Rin showing up at Iwatobi unannounced doesn’t sound as appealing.

“You should’ve told me,” he chastises, choking back on the bile that comes along with the thought of Rin being temporary.

Rin flinches. “You don’t check your phone,” he reminds Haru tentatively.

Haru frowns. Boyfriends would check their phones, waiting with bated breath to hear from each other. But Haru would far rather have Rin here with him, so he wouldn’t have to be bothered with a phone or their once a week races.

“I thought it would be okay,” Rin says, stepping back. “I can leave, if you don’t want me here.”

But Haru doesn’t _want_ Rin to leave. Can’t he see that? Can’t Rin see that Haru just wants him _here_ , at Iwatobi, at Samezuka, wherever Haru already is?

No, Rin can’t. Haru knows that. He knows that, in this sense, he’s far ahead of Rin. Despite Rin being the one to ask him out, Haru’s two steps ahead of him, already waking up from fevered dreams filled with single bedroom apartments, laundry mixed up to the point where Rin wanders around in Haru’s favorite shirt.

What Haru feels for Rin is too deep, too strong, and he can’t share that with Rin just yet, or the redhead will go running before Haru can have the chance to show him the sight he’s already seeing.

So he shrugs. “If you want,” he says, even though his mind is screaming at Rin to stay, stay, _stay_.

Rin recoils, taking another physical step back. He stares at Haru wide-eyed, not comprehending. “I’ll see you Saturday,” he forces out before spinning on his heel and leaving.

Haru doesn’t stop him.

Friday night, Makoto approaches him after practice with a small frown. “Rin texted me,” he starts carefully. “Says he can’t make it tomorrow.”

Tuesday’s misunderstanding is a distant memory, already tossed away as unimportant. Besides, even then Rin had said he would see Haru Saturday. He doesn’t doubt that Rin is telling the truth. That something came up, forcing him to miss their first weekend session in months.

Whatever is keeping Rin away from Haru continues to do so the next week, and the week after, and the week after that. Haru stands in his kitchen, cooking mackerel and contemplating whether showing up at Samezuka would be a good idea or if that would show Rin that Haru thinks this whole thing is temporary. The rest of the team is in his living room, working on homework the way they’ve taken to.

When Haru walks in, Nagisa and Rei are at arms over some homework assignment while Kou appears to have given up on them and is already packing up. “Guys,” Makoto attempts to placate. “It’s just an assignment.”

“Nagisa-kun is _wrong_!” Rei declares.

With a huff, Kou tosses her bag over her shoulder. “You aren’t staying?” Haru asks. She’s the only connection he has to Rin right now. He’d wanted to ask if she knew what was keeping him so busy he couldn’t spend time with Haru the way they had been.

“No,” she replies. “I need to get my own work done, _without_ getting a headache.” She shoots the last part accusingly at Nagisa and Rei, neither of whom look particularly upset.

Makoto, however, is apologetic enough for them both. “Sorry about that, Gou…”

“No worries, Makoto-senpai,” she assures him brightly. “Thanks for having us,” she directs to Haru.

She doesn’t fill his home with the scent of cherry blossoms the way her brother does, and watching her leave is significantly less painful.

“– Rin-san then!” Rei declares. It’s the name that catches Haru’s attention.

His head spins around to them. “What was that?”

Makoto winces. “I said,” Rei answers, pushing his glasses up triumphantly, “that we can simply ask Rin-san who is right.”

“No,” Makoto argues weakly, but Nagisa already has his phone out.

“Fine!” Nagisa declares, and before Haru knows it, the echoing of the phone ringing blares through speakerphone.

It only takes three rings before Rin’s voice comes through, tinny and vaguely irritated but somehow still enough for Haru to relax. “Nagisa, this better be good,” Rin starts.

“Rin-chan!” Nagisa greets cheerfully. “Rei’s wrong about this English homework, and I need you to correct him.”

“I am not wrong, Rin-san!” Rei declares, attempting to snatch the phone from Nagisa, who brandishes it out of the way skillfully.

Rin’s sigh comes through as if he were standing next to Haru, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Alright, what is it?”

“It would be easier to show you,” Nagisa admits. “You should come over!”

“I am not taking the train all the way to Rei’s apartment just to answer _one_ –“

Rin’s growl is cut off by Nagisa’s gleeful declaration of, “We’re at Haru-chan’s!”

Haru holds his breath at the silence that follows.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Rin tells them quietly.

“It’s not just one question,” Nagisa announces. “It’s the whole assignment.”

“Our exam is tomorrow, Rin-san,” Rei says, at least somewhat apologetic. “It would be helpful.”

“Is Haru alright with it?” Rin asks, sounding skeptical.

The group as a whole looks to Haru. Nagisa appears gleeful, Rei pleading, and Makoto apologetic. Haru shrugs, trying to come off as nonchalant. It irritates him, though, that Rin would drop everything to help Nagisa and Rei with something like an English assignment, but he couldn’t be bothered to swim with him for three weeks.

“He’s fine with it,” Nagisa answers. “Please hurry!”

“Why y–!” Rin’s shout is cut off when Nagisa shuts off his phone. “It’s settled,” he declares to Rei. “Get ready to be proven wrong.”

“Haru, can I talk to you alone?” Makoto asks, standing up. Haru inclines his head, and the two of them walk into the kitchen, where Haru’s plate of mackerel still sits, getting cold. “Are you really alright with this?” Makoto asks softly.

“It’s fine,” Haru answers with a shrug, staring at his mackerel. Internally, he’s screaming at Makoto to understand what he’s unable to say. That he’s _thrilled_ at the chance to finally see Rin again after weeks. Even if it is only in a group setting.

“If you’re not okay with it, I can call Rin and move the session to my house. It’s not a big deal…”

“No,” Haru declares firmly. “Leave it alone.”

Makoto frowns at him, pursing his lips, but he doesn’t push it. Haru carries his mackerel into the dining room, taking the spot a little away from Makoto, still irritated that he would even _offer_ something that would keep Rin from him. His mackerel is lukewarm, but it’s satisfying enough to calm the nerves building in his stomach.

Why should he be nervous to see Rin? They’re together, even if they haven’t seen each other in some time. That hasn’t stopped the way Haru’s heart beats faster just by hearing his name. Hasn’t stopped the thrum under his skin at the thrill of seeing Rin again.

An infinite time passes, and yet no time at all has passed when the doorbell finally rings. Nagisa and Rei both jump up, fighting each other to answer the door. Haru catches an argument over ‘causing Rin-san to have a bias’ before they both disappear. Makoto shoots him that infuriating pity look again, and Haru ignores him, choosing to clean up his plates as the commotion moves from the door into the living room.

When he comes back, Rin is there.

Haru has to pause in the doorway before he can risk doing something stupid, like force the rest of them to leave so he can have Rin all to himself once again. Rin is slouched over the table, reading through a paper while both Nagisa and Rei hover over his shoulders. He looks so at home in Haru’s house, as if he belongs there rather than in some dorm room in Samezuka.

“Technically, Nagisa isn’t wrong,” Rin says, and Haru has to close his eyes. He lets Rin’s voice wash over him as he speaks, soaking it up the way he does a bath after a long day. “But,” Rin continues, cutting off Nagisa’s shout of triumph, “it’s American slang. It’ll be counted wrong by the teachers here, and besides it’s not a very nice thing to say…”

Rin trails off, continuing to go through the paper, and Haru finally finds it in himself to approach. He sits down quietly near Makoto and pretends to do his own homework, but his pencil doesn’t move.

“What have you been studying?” Rin asks, sounding scandalized.

“I’ve been watching American shows,” Nagisa tells him happily.

“Tch,” Rin scratches something with his pencil. “That’s your problem.”

“Eh?” Nagisa whines. “But Rin-chan, that’s my best sentence…”

“I told you it was wrong.” Haru catches Rei pushing up his glasses with a smirk.

“Again,” Rin says patiently, “this is slang. And teachers here –“ he cuts off as he looks up, meeting Haru’s eyes. For a moment, the rest of the room disappears, and it’s just him and Rin alone again. But then Rin blinks and looks away. “The teachers here don’t count slang,” he finishes quietly.

Rei and Nagisa both end up with marks all over their papers as Rin lectures them softly in both Japanese and English. It’s a testament to how bad Haru’s English is that he doesn’t understand what Rin’s saying, despite having taken that same class just the year prior. Nagisa and Rei seem to understand though, the former nodding while the latter jots down rapid notes.

When it’s all said and done, Rin stays until the rest of them get ready to leave. He hasn’t said a word to Haru the entire time, offering occasional grunts to Makoto when the larger swimmer caves and asks for help with some of his math questions too. Rin clearly wants to bolt, wants to get out of there as fast as possible, but while everyone tugs on their shoes, Haru stops him.

“Rin, stay for a second.”

This time, the pitying glance Makoto shoots is directed towards Rin. The redhead ducks his head, face flaming to match his hair color. “Sure,” he agrees, feigning passivity.

They don’t move, even after the others wave goodbyes, Nagisa insisting Rin come by more often, a sentiment Haru privately encourages. They stay completely frozen, even as Makoto closes the door behind them, shooting one last sorrow filled glance at them both.

Complete silence surrounds them, and Rin still refuses to look at Haru.

It drives him mad to the point where he’s the one who breaks the silence. “Rin.”

“I shouldn’t have come here,” Rin replies, still looking away.

Haru frowns. “Why not?”

“I thought I was over you,” Rin presses on. “But I was wrong.”

“Over me?” Haru asks, unable to stop the tremble in his voice from the thought. This is why he hadn’t wanted to be boyfriends. This is why he’d been so afraid. Because what Rin felt for him had been so fleeting, a passing fancy while what Haru feels is so deeply rooted in his very soul, he can’t hope to untangle it from himself. “Aren’t we…together?” he asks, stupidly, childishly.

Rin snorts, but it’s the furthest thing from funny as far as Haru’s concerned. “That isn’t funny,” he says.

“Haru, we’ve been broken up for three weeks,” Rin informs him. “If we were even ever together.”

“What are you talking about?” Haru asks because _what is Rin talking about_. They’ve never broken up.

“You’re not serious,” Rin says, looking up and meeting his eyes for the first time. “You _are_ ,” he declares, shocked. “What was I supposed to think? You didn’t text me back, you never called me, you didn’t want to see me outside of swimming, you didn’t want to go on dates with me, you didn’t want me to touch you…”

“I do want that,” Haru argues.

Rin snorts again. “You sure have a funny way of showing it.”

“It’s not funny,” Haru repeats.

Rin sighs, the mask he’s been wearing all night sliding completely off. His face falls, breaking Haru’s heart. “I can’t do this right now, Haru.”

“Rin,” Haru reaches for him, snatching his arm before Rin can wander off again. “Don’t leave.”

“Haru,” Rin breathes his name like it’s being ripped forcibly from his throat. “Please.”

“I like you,” Haru admits, because he can’t handle the reality of Rin trying to leave this, leave him because he thinks Haru doesn’t care about him enough.

Rin freezes, breath catching in his throat, but he doesn’t say anything, so Haru continues. “I didn’t want to be your boyfriend, because…I don’t want it to end.” Girls at his school wear boyfriends the way they wear their hair. Ponytails one day, loose around their shoulders the next.

He stops then, not sure how much more he can say without scaring Rin away. But his mind catches up to the grip he has on Rin’s arm, holding him here.

“I want you here with me,” Haru insists. “Always.”

Tears fall down Rin’s cheeks then. He’s always been so quick to cry, back when they were younger and even now. The smallest little thing brings the biggest of emotions out of Rin; it’s one of the things Haru loves most about him.

Loves. Not likes. But Rin’s not ready to hear that yet.

“Haru,” Rin cries, and Haru reaches for him. “Haru,” he says again, and Haru closes the distance.

Rin’s lips taste like salt. They’re already wet from his tears, but Haru licks them away. “Salty,” he remarks, pleased with the responding blush from Rin.

“Are you a cat?” Rin grumbles, but his fingers play with the hem of Haru’s shirt. So close and yet nowhere near close enough.

Haru wraps his hand around Rin’s fingers before Rin can pull away. He’s more cat-like than Haru is; Rin’s the one who’s flighty with every slight change. Rin’s the one who up and left him without a word.

Though, Haru has to admit, that was mostly his fault.

“Stay the night,” he insists.

“I have practice in the morning,” Rin protests without any force behind his words.

“Practice with us,” Haru offers.

“Haru…”

“Please,” Haru adds, because Makoto would make him. “I want you here.”

Rin is a crybaby. At Haru’s words, more tears fall down his face, but Haru can’t find him anything but attractive, even now. Rin smiling is his favorite expression, but Haru will accept him no matter what.

“Okay,” Rin agrees, dropping his head to Haru’s shoulder. His t-shirt already starts to dampen where Rin’s face presses against it, and he still doesn’t mind. “I don’t have aa change of clothes,” Rin mumbles.

Haru thinks a moment. “I have something you can wear.”

Maybe boyfriend isn’t such a bad term after all.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on [Tumblr](https://rinthegreat.tumblr.com/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/rinthegreat_ao3)


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